NW BULLDOZING & HYDROSEEDING LLC

I often get asked if it is ok to hydroseed in the winter. Winter is not the ideal time to hydroseed
but it can still be done successfully. We actually do quite a bit of hydroseeding between November and March, usually for erosion control purposes or when a City or County is requiring it for an occupancy permit. First of all it needs to be above 50 degrees for the seed to germinate. Unlike in the summer when it will germinate in as little as a week, winter hydroseeding can take a month or two to germinate, possibly longer depending on the temperatures. Freezing temperatures will not harm the seed. The key is keeping the hydroseed from getting washed away until it gets warm enough to germinate.

Bonded Fiber Matrix and Flexterra are long term mulches designed specifically for erosion control and off season hydroseeding. These wood mulches have engineered interlocking fibers and tackifiers in them that will hold the hydroseed in place for up to a year, even on steep banks. Flexterra is what you often see on the side of the freeway, it provides protection from erosion equivalent to an erosion control blanket. We often use Flexterra on stock piles of dirt to prevent erosion. These products do cost more than standard hydroseeding but if you have to hydroseed during the winter months they will greatly increase your chances for success whether you are planting a new lawn or protecting soil from erosion. Call us today so we can discuss the best options for your project.         
                                                          360-204-2362

Patented Flexterra® High Performance-Flexible Growth Medium™ (HP-FGM™)—proven to surpass all hydraulically applied mulch products and turf establishment blankets:

• Immediately effective upon application—bonds directly to soil
• Superior erosion control—99% effective at multiple large-scale testing laboratories
• Excellent functional longevity that lasts through grow-in
• Ideal for dormant seeding and long-term protection in arid climates
• Less soil preparation, faster lay down and lower installed cost than rolled blankets
• Faster vegetative establishment and greater biomass production than any rolled blanket or hydraulically applied mulch available
• Minimizes soil loss and turbidity of effluent runoff
• Proven to be completely environmentally friendly
• Click here to learn more about Profile erosion control products

Your grass craves periodic feedings, and it is best to meet this need for periodic feedings
by fertilizing lawns with "slow-release" products. You'll
find such products at local home improvement stores, such as Lowe's and Home
Depot. Because these products release their nutrients over time, rather than all
at once, feeding your grass with them allows the grass to "eat" at its own
leisure. As nutrients are released, the root system fills in any bare patches,
depriving weed seeds of a place to germinate.
Of course, as a substitute for all this, you can stay organic and simply top
dress your lawns with compost in spring and fall.


Scotts suggests a four-part schedule for fertilizing lawns. The schedule will
depend on where you live and your grass-type; but, as an example, here’s the
schedule for a Northern lawn composed of a mixture of bluegrass, ryegrass and
fescue:



Sample Schedule for Fertilizing Lawns
 

1. Apply a fertilizer called, “Scotts Turf Builder With Halts Crabgrass Preventer” in April or May. Fertilizing
   lawns goes hand in hand with weed control.
   
2. “Scotts Turf Builder With PLUS 2 Weed Control” can be applied in June. This
   fertilizer fills the need for additional weed control, as the herbicide
   component fights everything from ground ivy to purslane to white clover.
   
3. In July or August, apply “Scotts Super Turf Builder with SummerGuard.”
   This fertilizer is billed by Scotts as a product that “strengthens and
   summer-proofs" your grass while "combating a spectrum of harsh seasonal threats
   like insects, heat and drought.”
   
4. Finally, Scotts winterizing fertilizer should be applied in fall.
   Fertilizing lawns with this product will not only prepare grass for winter, but
   also give you a head start towards achieving the green turf you’ll want next
   spring –- bringing us full circle.

Before fertilizing lawns with these products, read the instructions on the
bag carefully (or ask someone at the store for details). A particular product
may not be suitable for your type of grass. Likewise, when applying fertilizers,
follow directions explicitly, concerning how much to apply, how often they
should be applied, and under what conditions they should be applied.


Fertilizing lawns is best done with a brodcast spreader. Be advised not to fill the
applicator with the spreader parked on the grass. Doing so invites grass-burn,
as you may accidentally discharge too much while loading. Instead, fill the
applicator somewhere else, then wheel the spreader onto the grass.

.

What is lime

Lime, in the sense of applying it to a lawn, is pulverized limestone or
chalk. The main component is calcium carbonate. Lime with a high calcium content
is referred to as calcite lime and has the added benefit of adding calcium to
the soil. Some limestone contains a significant amount of magnesium and is
referred to as dolomitic lime. Dolomitic lime adds magnesium to the soil and
could be used if soil tests indicate a magnesium deficiency.


Pulverized lime is powdery and messy to apply, often causing lime dust to
blow everywhere. Pelletized lime is more expensive but is made into dust-free
pellets which dissolve with subsequent rains or irrigation.


Why Lime?
You may need to add lime to your soil if a soil test indicates a pH level below the optimum of 6.0 or 7.0.  Soil pH is a measure of a soils alkalinity or acidity. A soil is acidic, or "sour", if it
has a pH below 7.0 (neutral).


Soils can be naturally acidic but can also be acidified over time by natural
leaching, the use of some nitrogen based fertilizers, excessive rainfall or
irrigation, and acidic water sources.


A pH below 6.0 causes important plant growth nutrients to become "bound up" in the
soil making them unavailable to the plant. As a result, the turf can decline
including a loss of color, reduced vigor and diminished ability to recover from
heat and drought stress.


Is Liming Necessary?
The need to lime will be determined by soil tests. Working towards an ideal
pH level will help bring the soil into balance and allow for optimum nutrient
uptake.


How Much Lime is Necessary?
Soil tests will indicate the amount of pure calcium carbonate to apply in
pounds per thousand square feet. Match the needs of the soil test to the amount
of pure calcium carbonate indicated on the bag and apply with a lawn spreader. Results of liming are slow to take
affect and it can take four to six years to adequately increase the soil pH.


When Can it be Applied ?
Lime can be applied to a lawn any time of year. It is often done during
spring or fall when lawn stresses are minimal and more time is usually
available.

 
Why Would I Prepare the Soil?
The first step to a vibrant, healthy  lawn is to prepare the soil for the plant to be able to grow there.  This is the kind of situation where you usually get a better  result if you start out with a better environment for growth.  Think of it as a baby plant that has just begun its life, and  just like a human baby there are some requirements for optimal growth. Good drainage, fertile soil with the proper nutrients, the  right amount of water and food all contribute to a healthy stand of grass.  The time to alter the soil is before planting, as  it is much more difficult to change it after the lawn is
growing.

Surface Clean-up
It is imperative that the surface of the soil  is bare and that all weeds are removed before we hydroseed. It is best to rake up all debris after weed removal and bag it so that  you don’t leave weed seed on the ground.  The hydroseeding mixture (called a slurry) comes out of the hose with
the consistency  of a thick pea soup, and it needs to make contact with the soil in order for the grass seed to germinate and grow.

Irrigation
Consistent watering is essential for a healthy lawn  and regulating it with a timer is
mandatory.You may think it won’t be too difficult to water by hand before work and after  work every day, but that will get old real quickly.  Also, this is not the area to save the budget by buying the cheapest sprinklers  you can find; that will only lead to broken heads and frustration down the road which will mean frequent repairs and many brown areas  due to lack of water. Do the homework needed here; check the water pressure, do  the math, and get some quality rotators if the budget
allows.  Please DO NOT install impact-type rotators (like the old style  Rain-Birds that went CH-CH-CH-CH-CH-CH), as they tend to disrupt the freshly sprayed hydroseeding mulch in an arc where the water  pellets land over and over.  Remember, when we hydroseed your yard we put down everything needed for you to have a beautiful  lawn.  After that, all that is left is for you to water it correctly for it to turn out just the way you wanted


To Till or Not To Till
If your soil is hard-packed and you  can not dig a hole in it with your heel, you probably need
to rototill or bring in at least 4 inches of new topsoil.  This will improve drainage and allow the baby roots to  work their way into the soil.  There is a reason why grass won’t grow on concrete and if your soil feels like concrete, you probably  won’t have the beautiful lawn you imagined.  Rent a rototiller from the local home improvement store (a rear-tine tiller is much  easier to maneuver and does a better job) or hire someone to do this nasty job.Try  to till down at least 6”  (minimum of 4”) and watch out for PVC. It is usually better to do this before you install your  irrigation, but if you already have irrigation in place you can locate the pipes and mark them with flags before you till.  If  you are going to add amendment you will want to till first, add the amendment and spread around, then till the amendment  into the soil as deeply as you can and mix thoroughly.  If you don’t till the amendment into the soil the roots may want to stay  in the top area where the nutrients and the drainage are optimal, and then you will have a shallow root system that does not produce  a healthy plant.  After the tilling fun is over and your soil is raked and smoothed, you will then want to rent a sod-roller  ($11/half day), fill it half-way full with water, and go over your yard in two different directions to firm it up.  That will  even up the soft areas (trenched lines over pipes) and make it consistent so your finished yard is smooth and not full of hills and  valleys.  If you can step on the soil and sink in a couple inches, you need to firm it up some more.  Remember, I am coming  out to spray and I will be walking back and forth over the soil with a 2” hose that is very heavy, and I don’t want to step in a sinkhole.   Tilling is a challenging step that you may be tempted to skip, but you can’t do much about over-compaction after the lawn is planted,  and it will be much healthier if the roots can breathe.


Pre-germinate Weed Seed
After you have finished all the previous  steps and your soil is graded, firmed, and raked smooth, you are almost ready to go.One last step is essential for your beautiful  lawn to come in the way you want: you need to kill any weed seeds that are just lying there waiting for the right conditions to pop 
up.You may not see them or believe they’re  there, but I can guarantee there are weed seeds in your soil right now.There may even be remnants of weeds and roots from weeds  that you tilled into the soil.They are much easier to deal with BEFORE we plant the grass seed and if you don’t do anything  about them, what do you think is going to happen when we put down a protective layer of mulch, fertilizer, and growth additives, and  you begin to water 3-4 times a day?The best way to make sure they don’t come up with your new lawn is to germinate them and  kill them before we hydroseed.  Once you are all ready to go, set your sprinkler timer to water your soil lightly 2 times per  day as if you had just planted grass.Set the duration so that it will water down into the soiabout 1”;  that  should be enough to germinate the viable seeds. Then after about a week or so of this outine, spray ANYTHING that comes up green  with Roundup.  It is very important to spray the Roundup after the soil has been getting water;  if it has been bone-dry  for months the Roundup will not be very effective.It is absorbed into the plant through the leaves (or blades) and will only  go into
the roots and kill the plant if the plant has been moving water up and down inside it's structure.  In other  words, if the plant (or weed) has been in shock for lack of water, the Roundup probably won’t kill it.After you spray the Roundup,  turn off the irrigation for a day or so and we can hydroseed in a couple days.The Roundup has no effect on an ungerminated  seed and will leach out of the soil as you water.This method is tried and true, and will take the weeds out of the equation  so you will not have to be killing them while your new lawn is growing.

Why The Fall Season Is Usually The Best Time To Hydroseed

The hot temperatures of summer are past. This makes it easier to keep the
seed moist during germination. The young plants have better growing
conditions without extreme heat. Most of the weeds that compete with grass are dead and diseases are under control for the rest of the year. Weed and disease chemicals cannot be
sprayed on new grass without injuring or killing it. The new grass will have the fall and spring seasons to mature before facing all the stress of summer: heat, traffic, competition, mowing,
inappropriate watering, diseases, etc.

Planting in fall avoids several springtime problems: cool soil
temperatures delay germination; soil may be too moist to prepare; weeds dominate
the early growing months. Higher percentages of seed germination are likely since
soil temperature and moisture levels are more favorable or can be controlled
more readily.

Why Your Best Time To Hydroseed May Differ.
 
You may be planning to hydroseed for a completely new lawn; need to do
over-seeding to thicken your lawn; or want to patch bare areas in the lawn. Your
success in all of these endeavors depends on much more than knowing when is the
best time to plant grass seed.

The answers to these important questions are critical:

• Have weeds and foreign grasses been eliminated?
  
  
• Have any pest or disease problems been corrected?
  
  
• Has the soil been prepared, including cultivation (loosening) and adding
  soil amendments, if needed?
  
  
• Is there an irrigation system present in good working order?
  
  
• Are you sure that deficiencies of the sprinkler system did not cause dead
  spots that have led to the need to reseed?
  
  
• If there is no irrigation system, are you prepared to moisten the
  germinating seeds for the next 2 to 3 weeks, as often as 3 times a day?
  
  
• Will you be able to restrict traffic on the reseeded areas for the next 4 to
  6 weeks, or longer? Are other plants growing with current weather
  conditions?

Best answer:
The best time to plant grass seed is in the fall,
only if you can answer yes to all those questions.

Realistic answer:
When to plant grass seed in any location?
When you are ready. Any time, any season, that you can answer yes to all
of these questions will probably work. If the weather permits you to be
comfortable outdoors, it’s good for grass to grow.

If you are not ready or able to do the proper preparation, then no
time is the best time.

The Rule For Hydroseeding Gets Ignored
 
The rule of thumb says you will get the best results by choosing fall as the
best time to plant grass seed. Do people plant at other times and get good
results? Yes, they do.

People plant grass every year in spring, summer, fall, and winter. They sow,
it grows, they mow. Life is busy. Schedules are full. Weddings, parties and
travel may dictate when the lawn gets attention. People get to the point where
they are tired of looking at a crummy lawn and they want to fix it. Soon or
sooner.

If you are ready to install or repair a lawn using seed, and have good
reasons for not waiting until fall, go for it. It can be a big investment of time, energy and money for some projects. So improve your chances of success by taking care of every step of the project. 

If you are afraid to hydroseed when it isn’t the best time, don’t worry so
much. Since you are so conscientious, you’ll do fine, because you pay attention
to details. The guy who just throws down seed in the fall, because it is the
best time, but without much thought or effort will be the disappointed one.

Preparation and good maintenance practices are at least as important as
selecting the absolute best time to plant grass seed. Don’t be in such a hurry
to get it done that you do it poorly. Do it the best way, and that will
diminish the necessity of selecting the “best time”.